When it comes to electric vehicles, one manufacturer has weirdly been lacking in terms of putting out electric products. The brand we are referencing here is Honda. The Japanese car company excels at pretty much everything it does, but its only real foray into EVs in the modern era has been the cute but short-range Honda e. What the e did show us though is that there is a lot of potential in a Honda EV, and the brand clearly wants to get it right when it really gets into it.
And get into it they have, with their new Honda Prologue electric SUV finally revealed, after a fair bit of speculation regarding when their first electric SUV would debut. This is an all-new model and will come to North America ahead of the 2024 model year, with the SUV also benefiting from a partnership with American company General Motors. The new Prologue features what Honda calls “Neo-Rugged” styling, and it offers our first mass-market glimpse into what Honda might be able to achieve in the world of electric vehicles.
A Modern Yet Rugged Design For The New Prologue
Honda says that the Prologue offers both a rugged yet modern design, with the SUV designed by the Honda design team that is based in Los Angeles. A young team of designers was hard at work creating the Prologue, injecting a fresh new design into the segment. The Prologue does offer quite sleek lines for an SUV, whilst there is a bit of a rugged nature to the machine in its size. The front of the Prologue does feature some design inspiration from the Honda e according to Honda, although it's difficult to pinpoint where exactly that comes from.
The exterior color in which the Prologue is in for this first look is North Shore Pearl, an exclusive color say Honda for the Prologue. The back of the car features a departure from current Honda models. Gone is the traditional H logo and in its place is large HONDA lettering across the tailgate. The back of the car has a hint of Range Rover to it, and it is quite a pleasant looking back-end with some smooth lines and nice drops from the roof to the fascia.
GM Based Technology Under The Hood Of The Prologue
The Prologue is a significant SUV for another reason. The Prologue takes its platform from General Motors, sharing the GM Ultium platform that the American company has developed. This platform is of course used in a number of vehicles such as the Cadillac Lyriq and the Chevrolet Blazer, but of course the car in no way resembles anything like a GM design. While we do know this about the Prologue, Honda has not revealed any real architecture details about the car. No word on the motors, the capacity and the speed or power of the new SUV.
What we do know though is that Honda sees this as a car that will position itself above the CR-V while also putting it alongside the Passport. It's certainly a massive machine, with a wheelbase of 121.8-inches, and it is around 8-inches longer and 5-inches wider than the 2023 CR-V. This in theory will pay dividends massively when it comes to the legroom inside the Prologue and regarding space overall. On top of that, like the aforementioned Blazer and Lyriq, the Prologue we see here is on 21-inch wheels with six lug nuts, and we can expect the car to weigh around 5,500 – 6,000 lbs.
A Spacious Interior With Plenty Of Digital Screens
Honda does at least give us a glimpse into the interior of the prologue. There are two large screens inside the SUV. The instrument cluster itself is fully digital and is around 11-inches in size, with this being part of the standard equipment you get with the SUV. When it comes to the infotainment system, that is 11.3-inches so a touch larger. Something that is very pleasing to see is how Honda have not let the infotainment system absorb the climate controls, Honda being one of the few manufacturers to keep that to easier to operate physical buttons.
A Glimpse Into The Future Of Honda EVs
The Prologue offers us a bit of a glimpse into the EV future of Honda EVs, and it's not going to be small. Honda know they will no doubt sell plenty of them, and it is important for the company to step into this world to maintain sales. It is interesting though that they have chose to utilize GM technology for the basic architecture rather than create their own system, although we have no doubt this isn’t a long-term solution for Honda. More details will hopefully soon be forthcoming of the Prologue in the coming months.
Source: Honda